The "Godfather of NBA Scouting."

It's a sad day Marty Blake dies at the age of 86, and i think he deserves some recognition so i will post here some of his acomplishments:

Blake became manager of the Hawks in 1954 he was 27 years old, when the team was based in Milwaukee. From 1954 to 1970, Blake guided the team to seven division titles and one NBA championship (1958)
he was the NBA's longtime Director of Scouting. In 2005, Blake received the Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the most prestigious given by the Hall of Fame short of enshrinement, recognizes individuals whose outstanding accomplishments have impacted the high school, college, professional or international game.

At the 1970 NBA Draft, Blake became the first general manager in NBA history to select a player from a foreign league by drafting Mexico's Manuel Raga in the 10th round. Blake followed that selection with Italy's Dino Meneghin in the 11th round. Neither player ever signed with the Hawks, since the team could not afford to buy out their contracts, but the draft selections set the stage for the later influx of global talent into the NBA

He forged agreements with half a dozen NBA and ABA teams to provide scouting reports of college basketball players and help teams prepare for the NBA Draft
His legendary acumen and eye for talent soon increased the number of teams contracting his services to more than half the league, and by 1976, Marty Blake & Associates came under the umbrella of the NBA league office, and Blake's scouting reports and other vital player information was made available to all NBA teams.

Blake played a pivotal role in two events that remain major postseason destinations for NBA scouts and general managers: the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament and the NBA Pre-Draft Combine (previously known as the NBA Pre-Draft Camp)

The Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, or PIT, has been played since 1951. When Blake and Bob Ferry, then general manager of the Baltimore Bullets, attended the 1972 PIT, they realized that the PIT was a basketball scouts' nirvana, and within a few years, Blake was bringing all of the NBA's top scouts and GMs to Portsmouth to see players like Dave Cowens and John Lucas. In later years, John Stockton, Scottie Pippen, Tim Hardaway and Dennis Rodman started their NBA journeys with outstanding play at the PIT

Blake and Matt Winick, now the NBA Vice President of Scheduling and Game Operations, put together the first NBA Pre-Draft Camp in 1982.

Blake was named NBA Director of Scouting Services. Blake and his associates were credited with discovering such players as Jack Sikma, Terry Porter, Dennis Rodman, Scottie Pippen, Tim Hardaway, Ben Wallace, Karl Malone, and Joe Dumars. Official NBA publications referred to Blake as the "Godfather of the NBA Draft" because of his ability to identify skilled players at smaller colleges

"Marty began his lifetime of service to basketball at a time when the league was still in its infancy," said NBA Commissioner David Stern. "His work as a general manager and then as Director of Scouting for the NBA first helped the teams to understand the value of scouting. Marty's dedication not just to the NBA but to basketball was extraordinary and we will forever be indebted to him." David Stern

He loved the game, respected the talents of the players and in later years marveled at the way the game had grown up around him. At the time of his retirement, he had done just about every job in the game of basketball outside of playing, and he had done them well. He spent a lifetime in the game of basketball

Amazing he did it without film analysis, analysis based on advanced metrics and background profiling that borders on forensic psychology he was a brilliant guy for funs like us, much much respect for him... my condolences to his family and RIP